


Nightmare With You

by PopsicleJolt



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Sharing a Bed, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22579810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PopsicleJolt/pseuds/PopsicleJolt
Summary: Jam Week Day 3 -SleepConnie helps Steven get through a nightmare.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Nightmare With You

It was past midnight, and Steven and Connie had just finished watching yet another episode of a random bad show. They had run out of good stuff to watch a long time ago, and after having nothing better to do, had decided to see who could make the other person fall asleep first.

Connie smiled. “That was actually, yawn, quite good.”

“HA! You yawned!” Steven pointed a finger at Connie’s chest. “Admit it, _Greene’s Autopsy_ sucks!”

“And so does _Under The Knife_! They both suck!”

“ _Under The Knife_ is funny,” Steven said, recalling a particularly memorable line from the pilot. “ _Greene’s Autopsy_ is just the same drama over and over again.”

“You are entitled to your opinions,” Connie stubbornly said. “Now it’s my turn. Be prepared for the, yawn, clutches of the pilot of _The Wizarder_!”

“Ha! Won’t faze me…” Steven teased. Truthfully, he himself was starting to get sleepy -but he knew that Connie was making a grave error. Connie was just as bored by _The Wizarder_ as Steven was, if not more.

After several minutes of comically dull acting, Steven felt Connie’s head begin to slide down his shoulder. “Tsk, tsk,” he whispered as he effortlessly held Connie’s shoulders, picked her up bridal-style and tucked her in. “Oh, Connie…”

When Steven got in bed himself, Connie shifted so her hand was ever so slightly brushing against Steven’s arm, and his already-fuzzy brain was reduced to sleepy mush. He didn’t even get to say goodnight before falling asleep.

…

Connie was woken up by Steven’s arm hitting her in the face.

“...Outer… Space…” Steven shifted. “Refugee… Interstellar war...”

Connie silently laughed to herself. _The Cookie Cat rap?_ It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing Steven had said in his sleep, except for the fact that he almost seemed to be dancing in his sleep. It would be cute if she hadn’t been hit three times in the span of five seconds.

Connie would wake him up for her own sanity, but something stopped her from doing that. Maybe it was the way he looked so relaxed, a rare sight when he was always so stressed. Or just that Connie wanted to see what happened.

“Now available… Nowhere…”

Oh. She’d forgotten how short the rap was. Thank goodness for that. Connie would normally egg Steven on, but she was absolutely exhausted from finals last week. So she just opted to say goodnight and kiss him, eliciting a faint giggle.

After that, Connie had no trouble falling asleep.

…

“Now available… Nowhere.” Steven overdramatically said as he dropped the mic and randomly put on a pair of shades as he struck a pose, causing a mixture of cheering and laughter from the crowd.

The DJ jokingly changed the music to airhorns, before changing it back. The show host, Dogcopter with a radio head, flew in. “That was an awesome performance. Thank you Steven. Remember to be true to yourself.” _That sounds familiar_. “Now, next contestant, come on up.”

As soon as Steven stepped off the colorful glowing tiles of the dance floor, a shadowy blob jumped out of the audience and in front of Steven. “WHAT?”

The thing hissed and transformed into a silhouette of Steven with white eyes that stared into his soul. It whispered something malicious.

Steven’s first instinct was to run, but he was frozen on the spot. Then he tried to summon his shield, but his gem wouldn’t work. _Why can’t I move? Why can’t I use my shield? Why can’t I scream?_

The thing laughed in a distorted voice that sounded like Steven’s own voice. Every nerve of his body was on fire, telling him to run, fight, get a shield, scream, do something. But he couldn’t.

Most of the crowd had cleared out already, leaving Steven alone with the thing. The gems were nowhere in sight.

The monster took a step forward. Steven felt it in his gem and tried to muster up the willpower to move his leg. Nothing.

Steven felt almost nauseous at the suspense. When the monster took three more steps, he finally managed to utter a squeak.

The monster lunged at him with jagged fangs and tore his neck out-

Steven woke up in his bed, touching his neck as if to see if his head was still there before sighing in relief. He was sweaty, gasping for breath, his heart pounding out of his chest. And his throat was incredibly dry. “Why am I so thirsty…?” He muttered as his feet seemed to move on their own-

The floor was freezing, like it was covered in ice. “COLD! Cold! Cold!” Steven flinched and backed away to the bed.

Surprisingly enough, Connie didn’t wake up. Steven decided to go back to bed. But no matter how hard he tried, his overwhelming thirst kept him awake, as did the eerie silence and strange feeling in his gem. Steven begrudgingly got out of bed and speed-walked to his drawer to get socks, sighing in relief once his feet were shielded from the cold enough that he could safely walk on the floor.

Steven cautiously walked down the stairs. He wasn’t sure why, but something definitely felt off. It was a low, throbbing pulse in his chest that made breathing seem hard.

When Steven reached the downstairs area, he felt a faint pulsing sensation on the floor. It came from the warp pad.

Nothing was there. Nothing was visibly wrong with the warp pad. And yet, Steven didn’t feel relieved in the slightest. Even if he couldn’t see it, Steven had a feeling that something was watching him. Stalking him.

When Steven opened the cabinet, he swore he heard a floorboard creak. Looking behind him, he thought he saw movement and, _wait a minute, why is there a pillow on the ground?_

Steven ignored it and turned on the faucet, filling the glass with precious, precious water. After turning it off, Steven gulped down the water like he hadn’t drunk anything in days.

Steven felt much, much better. Satisfied, he decided to go back to bed. As soon as he took one step, though, everything went dark, even the sky outside. There was just enough light to make out silhouettes of objects, but that was about it.

“W-what’s going on?!”

That distorted laugh came back from on top of the couch, and those burning white eyes were staring down at Steven. Steven froze, shivering from the sudden cold. _Not this monster again…!_ Steven used all his gem strength to summon an unstable shield that dissipated as quickly as it appeared. _No…_ A strangled whimper came out. Steven tried to make his legs move, but they just twitched and shivered in place. He tried to get his legs to move, any body part to move, he tried to speak, but his body was frozen in place, even though his frantic mind kept trying... _No… Please, stay away from me! Who are you? Who are you? Damn it Steven, move, run! Why can’t I move? Why can’t I say anything! Just run!_

The monster stiffly stepped off the couch and pierced into Steven with its eyes. Steven violently shook in place, his body not listening.

A malicious whisper was heard from all around the room, cutting through Steven’s mind and filling it with painful gray static. His arms twitched reflexively, but Steven still couldn’t move no matter how much he tried. Time seemed to slow down to an agonizing crawl as the monster took a step forward despite Steven’s silent protests.

…

Connie was woken up by a soft grunt.

She could tell right away that something was wrong. Steven was violently shuddering in place, intermittently twitching his arms or legs, and his breathing was a shaky, shallow pant as he whimpered like a beaten dog. His face was anxious, pained even, and sweat was beading on his forehead even though the room was rather chilly.

“Steven, I’m here…” Connie said. She couldn’t stand watching Steven like this.

Steven didn’t seem to register that Connie had said anything, so Connie stroked his head, running her fingers through his sweat-soaked hair.

Steven’s entire body twitched all at once. Connie wasn’t sure what this meant, so she continued running her hand through Steven’s hair, and Steven continued to twitch.

After the third time, Connie realized that Steven was trying to touch her. So she put her hand where Steven would usually grab and hug it. Steven didn’t do anything until Connie touched him again, at which he twitched in the direction of her arm but didn’t do anything else.

Connie finally realized that Steven was literally paralyzed and unable to move. 

…

The monster had inched its way three feet in front of Steven, nearly blinding him with its static and deafening him with its voices, when a sudden warmth cleared Steven’s head. Steven found that his attempts to move his limbs were just a little more effective. _Maybe I can do this after all._

Steven attempted to move his leg. _Think… Think…_

The monster was two feet in front, and the static was temporarily worse. Steven could move a little bit, but his feet were glued to the ground.

_Come on, come on, move! Move! Please…_

The monster laughed, exposing its huge jaws. Steven was able to hop back.

_Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, run, run!_ Steven put all his focus on one leg. _What would Connie do if she were here?_

She would face the opponent head-on.

Steven mustered up enough willpower to punch the monster in the face, heart sinking at the realization that his fists didn’t make contact with anything. In an act of pure fear, Steven turned around and ran.

…

Suddenly, Steven’s limbs flew out in all directions, and then he practically jumped out of bed and harshly fell onto the ground.

“Steven! Are you okay?”

Steven didn’t respond.

“Steven?”

Steven was still deep in the middle of his nightmare, body moving with each pant. Even though he wasn’t shaking anymore, it still broke Connie’s heart to see Steven like this. She decided to wake him up.

Connie gently touched Steven’s shoulder. “Steven, wake up-”

Steven turned over and gripped Connie’s arm. “...Ngh!”

Connie noticed a faint pink glow coming through Steven’s yellow shirt. “Huh?” Connie gently used her free hand to pull up Steven’s shirt.

"Get away from me..." Steven swatted Connie's hand away. 

“Sorry…” _Welp. If I try to wake him up now, he'll punch me._ She decided to put him back in bed and comfort him for now.

…

Steven tripped over that pillow, and realized he didn’t actually know where he was running. “Ow…! S-stay away from me!” Steven did anything he could to avoid looking at the monster as he quickly made a decision and regained his footing. Running upstairs, Steven summoned his shield and closed his eyes. _Whatever you do, don’t look at it._ Even without looking, Steven could feel the pulsing on the floor. The thing slowly moved across the living room and up the stairs.

The pulsing moved up the stairs. Steven was getting sick of this game. “Stay away from Connie!” he growled.

The pulsing continued to move, until it stopped at about right in front of him. Steven felt the overwhelming urge to back away.

The monster reached out a clawed hand towards Steven’s belly. Steven knocked it back with his shield. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” Steven risked opening his eyes and ran upstairs. That was too close for comfort.

Just when Steven thought he could make a run for his bed, the monster grabbed Steven’s throat. “L-let… Go of me!” Steven choked. He clawed at the hands on his neck, desperately trying to catch his breath. The hands stayed in place, drawing blood at the fingertips. “Please!”

The monster let one hand go, holding Steven by the neck with the other hand. It painfully turned Steven’s head to its face, forcing him to look at it and freeze as it dragged him to the wall and pinned him there.

The monster used its free hand to tear a chunk of Steven’s shirt off.

Out of the corner of his eye, Steven noticed Connie disappear.

…

It took Connie some effort to pick her hunk of a boyfriend up and gently set him down on the bed before tucking him in, and she was pretty sure all that sword training was the only reason it was possible in the first place. Connie was grateful that Steven relaxed in her arms.

When Connie herself got into bed, she wasted no time stroking Steven’s head. Steven reached for her arm and clung to it. Even if he seemed no less anxious, Connie was relieved that at least she could do something to help Steven feel better.

Steven's voice was barely a whisper as he choked, "Let go... Please..."

"Steven, I'm here..." To be honest, Connie was getting sleepy herself, and couldn't stay awake much longer. So she let herself become Steven's little spoon, and Steven hugged her without hesitation. Connie slipped into Steven's needy embrace, quickly falling asleep. 

Almost immediately after that, Connie found herself on the porch of Steven’s house, holding a sword. She knew it was a dream. The first thing she noticed was that even through her slippers, the floor was _really, really, REALLY cold!_

Connie also felt a strange pulsating sensation emitting from the house. It felt like just pure… bad.

Against her better judgement, Connie opened the door and walked inside, instantly noticing Steven painfully grunting upstairs. She ran up there to see a shadow clone of Steven pinning him against the wall with one hand and tearing out his gem with the other hand. It gave her phantom pain just watching it.

“STEVEN!” Connie charged at the monster, who held Steven in front of it. Connie dropped her sword to avoid hurting Steven, quickly finding herself paralyzed by the thing’s burning white eyes. She couldn’t move to pick up her sword, and trying to call out to Steven got her a squeak. _Am I in Steven’s nightmare?_

Steven was looking away from it. “Connie…!” He choked out, rubbing his gem back in place and freeing himself. Steven put himself between the monster and Connie, making a bubble around himself. “Don’t look at its eyes. Now escape while you can, Connie! RUN!”

It hurt Connie to see Steven so self-sacrificial even in his nightmares. “Steven, no! We can beat it together!” Connie realized she didn’t have time for this. She ran across the room, grabbed her sword and swung at it.

The monster’s arm was sliced off, poofing into nothing. Connie found herself standing back-to-back with Steven’s bubble. Connie risked looking back at Steven. “Jam Buds?”

Steven took a deep breath, growing a little less tense. “Jam Buds.” He lowered his head and removed the bubble, enabling Steven and Connie to stand back-to-back like they’d done so many times before.

Keeping her eyes on the floor, Connie waited for the monster to attack with its remaining arm.

Predictably, the monster ran to Connie. The duo swapped positions, leaving Steven’s shield to take the blow of the hit. Steven pushed the monster aside.

Connie ran and swiped with her sword, but the monster dodged and she collided with the bed. “Oww…”

A sudden weight was on her back, pinning her to the icy floor. Her arms were held down by not-Steven, her hands burning from the cold.

Connie could intermittently feel the monster’s cold breath on the back of her neck. Every nerve of her body told her to run, and she tried to struggle, but she couldn’t get up. The monster was too strong.

Steven bashed it with his shield, freeing Connie from its grip. She jumped up and grabbed her sword, waiting for the monster to attack.

The monster tried to move along the ground like a cat. Steven pulled Connie’s head up so she was looking up.

Connie carefully tracked the pulsing on the floor. She waited for the monster to go right in front of her, blindly thrusting downwards.

Connie felt her sword pierce through something fleshy. She dared to look.

The monster was still on the ground, and her sword had gone right through its back. It gave one last glare at Connie and Steven before its eyes flickered out. It poofed into black dust, nothing left but a black version of Steven’s gem.

“Thank goodness that’s over with,” Steven exhaustedly said as he bubbled the monster gem and set it aside. Despite that, there was still fear in his eyes. “I was so scared… You were in bed, and I watched you disappear. And before that, I was scared that the thing would try to attack you, and I couldn’t do anything about it. It even tried to remove my gem!” Tears formed in Steven’s eyes. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Connie wondered why Steven was describing the events of his nightmare as if he was talking about a nightmare. He didn’t seem to know he was in a dream.

“Steven… I think you somehow pulled me into your nightmare."

“Huh?” Steven looked incredibly confused, before it clicked and he pulled up his shirt to look at his gem, finding that the pentagon facet was upside-down. “This is a dream…” Steven looked at Connie with bewilderment. “How did I do that? That's not how my powers work!”

“Who cares about that,” Connie softly said as she kissed Steven’s soft cheek. “You’re here with me. We’re together.”

“We’re together,” Steven affirmed as he pulled Connie into a warm hug.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is kinda bad, I wrote this in two days and I was rushing to get it done on time? I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
> 
> Edit: As of 2/20, this chapter has been touched up. The ending isn't stupid and some of the prose isn't as bland. Hopefully.


End file.
